Sewer pipe cleaning tool



May 31, 1932 l. w, FENCE 1,860,395

SEWER PIPE CLEANING TOOL Filed April 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l l E H H I P1 U: IV fl LA INVENTOR.

IRR w- FENCE HA cum WWW A TTORNE Y.

May 31, 1932. l. w. FENCE 1,860,395

SEWER PIPE CLEANING TOOL Filed April 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v [9 INVENTOR. i BY IRE W- PEA/BEv MA/ MMM W ATTORNEY.

- Patented May 31, 1932 T UNITED? S T-Ares P T NT; ms

rnaw. FENCE, OEOLEVELAND, 01110, .assrsnon roi'mmn wraEanrAM, or rarer/re,

' r OHIO v w SEWER PIPE CLEANING r001.

- fA pplication filed April 30,

My invention relatesto improvements in tools for cleaning out house sewer pipes and is designed more particularly for cutting.

away the growing rootsof trees which com- 6 'monly'penetrate the sewer pipes at tliejoint and eventually result in a complete stoppage. This is a common source .of annoyance to householders,particularly in localities where trees of certain specie'predominate- Heretofore, it has been the practice to open a trench, disconnectthe house line at a point between the house and main sewer,:; and dislodge the obstructions by laborious'and blind poking with a longpole. Howevensuch means have proved unsatisfactory because the tougher roots couldnot be completely removed in this way, and thetrouble would soon return;

The general object of my invention is to provide a tool havingmeans for subjecting roots and other accumulated matter'in' a stopped sewer pipe to preliminary boring andcutting action to dislodge the obstruction, and additional means for severing the roots 7 close to the interior surface of the pipe. A further objectof my invention is to provide means forfacilitating the withdrawal of the tool around the slight bend and over the shoulder at the intersection between the house line-and the main sewer. A still further objectis to provide boring and cutting knives of great strength. The invention consists in the constructio and arrangement: of parts which will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

. e is a pictorial illustration of my invention as used to clean out a house sewer pipe. Fig.

2 is a sideelevation of the tool. cross-sectionalview on line 3+3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 a longitudinal sectional view on line H of Fig.1; and Fig. 5 is a cross secv tional view online 55. of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a perspectiveviewof oneof the cutting members of the tool. y

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the tool T comprisesa main shaft 1, provided at its forward end with a boring nose 2 and at its other end a universal coum ,pling member 3,which couplingmember connectswith a flexible driving shaft 4. This V In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 Fig. 3 is a 1931. Serial No. 533,931.

but in practice is made up from a number of rods 5, detachably connected together, and each preferably not more than twofeet in length. The rods are so'connected as'to provide for flexibility of movement but must. be

I suliiciently rigid and strong to permit of the tool beingpushed thereby through the sewer pipe 15. The shaft 4 leads to any suitable source of power, not shown,for rotating, the

shaft 1' and tool T, or the shaft may be ro-' tated by means of a hand crank, also not shown. Any suitable, means, not shown,

may be employed forfeeding or advancing the shaft as it is being rotated, thus pushing 'u the tool forwardly through the pipe. However, the tool'has a tendency to advance through the pipe with a boring action, when rotated. When the tool has been advanced,

say'two feet,. a rod section is added to the driving shaft andthe shaft and tool again rotated and advanced another two feet, either by hand or power. o

The tool T is provided with a'plurality of combinedboring andcuttingmembers7, conup obstructing matter in the pipe 6 and'finally to closely crop growingroots, which are a commoncause of such obstructions. The

members "7 comprise heavy flat boring 'por-' t ons 8 and curvedcutting blades or portions 7 1O integrally formed therewith. The. bearing portions 8 areal-ranged at an angle to the axis of rotation of the main shaft 1, and

the boring portions 8 at one end thereof.

Apertured ears ll are formed at their, other ends which sleeve over elongated pins orrods '12 secured to the shalt 1. Coil springs 13 on the pins 12 normally force the' blades to outward or expanded positiomas'shown in Figure 1. It will be noted that the blade porstructed to bore through, loosenand grind tions 10, ofmembers 8, are formed bytw'ist p in the blade ortions to brin the cuttin b r b edges 19, thereof, into a plane substantially at right angles to the cutting edge 20'o'f the boring portions 8. A strong and more rigid construction is thus obtained than by forming the members 7 in two parts. It will also be noted that the blades 10 are slightly twisted for a portion of their length as at 30, thus insuring automatic feed of the tool when rotated during cleaning operations. A plurality of rigid steel bars M one for each member 7, are riveted or otherwise suitably connected to the rear end of the shaft 1 and to the outer ends of the elongated pins 9'respectively. These bars guide the tool around bends or shoulders in the sewer pipe 15 during withdrawal of the tool, and also act as stops to limit the outward pivotal movement of the knives 10. It will be noted that the knives 10 or cutting blade portions of the members 7 are curved to closely hug the interior of the pipe 11 and to rotate in the arc of a circle substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis of main shaft 1. Consequently, when the tool is rotated and advanced through the pipe 11, a considerable portion of the knives 10 will hug the pipe wall and closely cut the growing roots which have been loosened or partially cut by the boring portions 8. The latter are preferably formed along one side with a short cutting edge 20. r

In practice a trench is made in the ground and a length of the pipe 15 is removed. The tool T is then inserted in the pipe 11 and the flexible shaft 4 rotated, thus imparting rotary movement to the main shaft 1, and its boring and cutting member 7. When the tool T is advanced along the house line 011 sewer pipe 15, to the main sewer line 16, as frequent- 1y becomes necessary, the flexibility of drive shaft 4, will permit of the tool passing around the bend 17, and during the withdrawing operation the guide bars 14 center the tool in the pipe and prevent the rear ends of the blades 10, or other parts of the tool from catching on the shoulder 18. Vhile the tool is specifically designed for cleaning house line sewer pipe which generally runs from 4 inches to 6 inches in diameter, the tool could readily be made in different sizes to fit smaller or larger pipes.

What I claim, is:

1. A tool for cutting roots in sewers, comi prising a main shaft having a boring nose, spaced members tangentially and pivotally connected to said shaft, said members com- I curved cutting portions, and means for rotating the tool.

a 3. A tool for cutting roots in sewer pipes, comprising a main shaft, twisted curved cutting blades having straight boring portions tangentially and pivotally connected to said shaft close to the front end thereof, guide members secured to the rear end of said shaft and covering one end of said cutting blades, and means for resiliently forcing said cutting blades outwardly in contact with said guide members.

4; A tool for cutting roots in sewer pipe, comprising a body, combined boring and cutting members pivoted to said body, said members having a straight boring portion tangentially and angularly di-sposed with respect to said body, and a twisted curved cutting portion substantially parallel with the longituding axis of said body and means for rotating the tool.

5. Atool for cutting roots in sewer pipe comprising a main shaft, spring-pressed boring and cut-ting members pivoted to said shaft, said members having a cutting portion conformin to the curvature of the pipe and a straight ioring portion in advance of the cutting portion, means for rotating and advancing the tool in the pipe, and means for centering the tool in said pipe andfor guarding the blades during withdrawal of the tool.

6. In a tool for cleaning sewer pipes, a main shaft, and a series of boring blades inclined toward the longitudinal axis of said shaft, and means to support said blades in their inclined posit-ion, 1 each of said blades being slightly twisted and at opposite ends attached to said shaft and supporting means in planes angularly, related to each other to impart a boring action to said tool.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

IRA VVL FENCE.

prising curved cutting blades twisted to conform to the curvature of a sewer pipe, and including straight boring portions in advance of and integral with said cutting blades, and means for rotating the tool.

2. A tool for cutting roots in sewers, comprising a main shaft, spaced members tangentially and pivotally connected at one end to said shaft, means for resiliently forcing the other end of said members outwardly away from said shaft, said members having straight flat boring portions and twisted 

